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Christian Theater

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BBC
Apr 24 2002
12:33 am

Okay, so I have been directing plays at the high school level for six years, and I have been going to plays actively for twice that time. I know the term Christian play is loaded and may be a misnomer, but assuming we can make any sense of that at all, anyone got an example of a Christian play? Or at least of the sort of play Christians ought to be doing? Any examples of the sort of play we ought not to be doing?

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BBC
Nov 16 2002
08:29 am

Okay, but to get back to my original question, which dealt (I think) with the selection criteria I use to decide what high school plays to do in a Chrisitan school for a Christian audience, as I think about my selection criteria and some of the ideas brought up in this thread, I propose this model (open for criticisim).

Christians in theater ought to be producing the following:

1. Good quality theater written by Christians that brings up Christian themes (Christopher Fry, perhaps)

2. Good quality theater written by Christian that brings up universal themes. (stage adaptation of “the Hobbit” which explores questions of what strength , courage, and leadership really are)

3. Good quality theater written by people who do not identify themselves as Christian which nonetheless have Christian and universal themes. (Shakespeare)

4. Good quality theater written by people who are not Christian, or even antagonistic toward Christianity, but who nonethelesshave written truthful plays which address the despair of a life lived without meaning. (Godot, No Exit, etc)

Christians in theater ought not to produce:

1. Poorly written material that holds no truth in it.

2. Well written theater which is deliberately falsifying the truth — (Okay, I can’t think of a real good example, although it occurs to me that the movie “Four Weddings and a Funeral” which concluded that the secret to relational happiness is to live together and not get married might be a good example.)

Responses?

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JDV
Nov 16 2002
10:23 am

BBC, I think you encapsulize the thoughts here nicely. Only one thing I fail to understand. How can you list Patricia Gray’s adaptation of “The Hobbit” under a category of quality theater when the writing so clearly fits beneath nearly senseless blather?

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BBC
Nov 16 2002
04:28 pm

But, surely it is senseless blather with some kind of message to it.

Okay, you’re right. Quality theater it ain’t. But boy, when you spruce it up with some great stuff and excellent acting, it sure can fool a lot of people.

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GoDrama
Jan 04 2003
04:53 pm

Is there something wrong with theatre that has really only entertainment value? I personally don’t think that there is…
BBC, I have a question, I love quality theatre (in fact I enjoy it better than the stuff I can’t see the meaning in) but I also like the kind of stuff that has “great stuff…[that] can fool a lot of people” how much different are productions like that from musicals? Other than the fact that they can be very annoying at times, what’s different about them?

Yes this is a large tangent I know, yet my question for BC is still something I want to ask him.

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BBC
Jan 07 2003
03:35 pm

actually, GoDrama, JDV was messing with me because he knows that the script we used in our most recent high school theater production (I directed, JDV assistant-directed) of The Hobbit — an adaptation by Patricia Grey — had some pretty gaping holes in it. My reply meant to say that even a poor script can be overcome with excellent actors, good sets, and a concern for the important story (Tolkien’s) within the bad adaptation (Grey’s).

To answer your larger question, though, I guess I would say that, although i don’t mind drama that is just entertainment, I find the experience far more rewarding when it is entertaining, but also meaningful, touching, thought-provoking, or the sort of thing that mades me agree or disagree violently with something i can’t put my finger on.

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GoDrama
Jan 10 2003
08:05 pm

Yes, BBC I did kind of get that “messing with” edge from that, however it did bring up the question which you so kindly answered. And I really just wanted to know why you dislike musicals so much. :-) I agree with you about the entertainment thing, though I like it when i can put my finger on the things that make me agree or disagree with them, however sometimes its not possible.
Occasionally I wonder what would be so wrong with me knowing everything…and then i realize that i really couldn’t handle it, that’s God’s job, but it doesn’t stop me from wondering.

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BBC
Jan 28 2003
02:54 pm

GoDrama, if you ever do get to the point where you know everything, could you give me a call?

I have some questions. ; )

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Simon
Sep 11 2008
12:41 pm

Maybe it’s better to ask, what is religious drama? Maybe that will bring you closer to finding a play? Assuming that’s the import of the question.

Perhaps Christian theatre is theatre done by Christian artists. The play itself, the playing style, the advertising, none of it necessarily needs to name the name that is above all names. Christian artists might seek to serve, by being prophetic, priestly, kingly – by doing a nasty Pinter play if that’s what the community needs to see, or the artists need to do. I would hesitate to say that there is a thumbprint Christian theatre experience.

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Simon
Sep 11 2008
12:41 pm

Maybe it’s better to ask, what is religious drama? Maybe that will bring you closer to finding a play? Assuming that’s the import of the question.

Perhaps Christian theatre is theatre done by Christian artists. The play itself, the playing style, the advertising, none of it necessarily needs to name the name that is above all names. Christian artists might seek to serve, by being prophetic, priestly, kingly – by doing a nasty Pinter play if that’s what the community needs to see, or the artists need to do. I would hesitate to say that there is a thumbprint Christian theatre experience.

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Simon
Sep 11 2008
12:41 pm

Maybe it’s better to ask, what is religious drama? Maybe that will bring you closer to finding a play? Assuming that’s the import of the question.

Perhaps Christian theatre is theatre done by Christian artists. The play itself, the playing style, the advertising, none of it necessarily needs to name the name that is above all names. Christian artists might seek to serve, by being prophetic, priestly, kingly – by doing a nasty Pinter play if that’s what the community needs to see, or the artists need to do. I would hesitate to say that there is a thumbprint Christian theatre experience.